A Short Story by Iman Kharfan
April 24, 2020
Dear diary,
This virus has been taking over… I don’t know what to do except stay inside. I’ve been keeping myself busy with schoolwork and games with my dog. But every time I look outside, the germs are practically visible.
I guess it’s best if I stay inside, I long for the outside world but I know I won’t be able to go out there for a while. If I can avoid transporting this virus to a less able person, that’s a good thing.
An upside is that I can see my friends still! Maybe not in person, but it still makes me happy to hear their voices and see their familiar faces. We constantly talk about how we hate online school and sometimes we even try to make tiktoks together over FaceTime, which is always pretty funny! We also can try new things like baking and watching a show together.
I’ve been seeing the huge demand for toilet paper, and since I’m just one person, I’ve been trying to give them away to people who need it more. I’ve been practicing my sewing so I can also help fulfill the urging need for masks. I personalize them so everyone can have a bit of personality.
I can only hope that this virus will clear up soon, I really miss my old life, but at least my life now is manageable!
Sincerely, me
Trapped Inside by Kathleen Pabian
Trapped Inside,
No more playing on the slide.
The virus is bad,
No more working for Dad.
No more friends at school,
is so not cool.
We must stay six feet away,
Every single day.
Boring birthday quarantine,
when I turn thirteen.
Being locked away cuases others strife,
But little do they know, this is just my normal life.
Trapped Inside: A short story by Lauren Bonn
I haven’t gone outside in three years, 6 months, 7 days, 8 hours, and 11 minutes. Back in 2020 no one expected that this quarantine would last this long. All essential packages are delivered to us by drones weekly after we pay for it. Good thing I stocked up on a lifetime’s supply of toilet paper. I’m supposed to graduate from high school this year but online school doesn’t have graduations. From what I’ve heard, they already made the vaccine for it but only the millionaires get to have it and go outside. I’ve been inside for so long that I forgot what fresh air smelled like.
But today is where it all ends. I’m tired of staying inside and listening to everyone. I walk up to my door and open it, the fresh air smelling crisp and clean. I slowly stick my hand out into the gleaming sunlight. I started to walk down the sidewalk, the warm sunshine feeling so good on my skin. I let my mind wander. Nothing is wrong with the outside, so why aren’t we allowed to come out here?
My train of thought was interrupted by a blaring alarm ringing,”HUMAN NUMBER 583910 HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT.” Multiple black and red drones flew up to me. I now knew that there was nothing wrong with the outside! I tried to run back to my apartment, but the drones caught me. A drone with a huge red eye flew up to my face and shined a bright red laser in my eyes, and everything went black.
I woke up and felt something wet and warm on my face. It was my dog licking me awake!
“It must’ve been a dream,” I said to myself. Or was it?
Short Story: by Sierra Schnable
It’s been 43 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes and 27 seconds since I’ve been allowed outside of my house. I sit at my computer, wondering if I’m actually inside of a movie. Life just feels like those zombie movies that begin with a worldwide quarantine. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next thing to happen to us would be real COVID-19 zombies. “Rose, could you turn your webcam on for me?” Mr. Joe asks. “Oh I uh..” I begin to panic. I can’t show my face! I haven’t showered in almost five days or even changed out of my pajamas. “My webcam broke a few months ago, sorry!” I quickly utter. Mr. Joe sighs and continues discussing how the sun formed. “I don’t know how much more I can take of this quarantine.” I say to my dog Bean. “I know I have to stay inside for my sake and others, but I’m just so tired. I miss being able to see my friends and teachers.” Bean barks, seemingly acknowledging what I was saying. “Also, my parents are being awful and greedy. They bought a whole store’s supply of toilet paper!” I sigh heavily and turn to face my window. The street outside is disturbingly quiet. The wind shakes the blossoming trees, creating an uneasy atmosphere like the outside world has been put on pause, and won’t be unpaused any time soon.
Trapped Inside by Madeline Boychuk
Day by day goes by,
Hoping that maybe one day
I will fly
To see the world again
Is my dream,
If only I could see the world gleam.
I wish this virus could be done
So that things can go back to normal
With people outside having fun
The economy up and running.
With despair flooding the world
There is still hope,
That our world will go back
To the way it was before.
Sun shining through the window
Out the window there is nothing
No people, no cars
Just buildings which is bizarre
In those buildings people are trapped inside
When will this end?
Trapped Inside by Kaitlyn Aguiar
Television and Skype
Or maybe play some Fornite
Looking out your window
Or staring at a wall
How about some Roblox
That will be fun
Especially with everyone
Maybe listen to some music and just relax
Brings back memories of way back
When we used to ride in cars all around town
The town we can’t explore right now
Just wonder how long this will be
Being trapped without being able to see
The world outside and the world it can be
This has made a new generation, that we will never forget
So we will see
Covid-19 By: Kennedy Bostwick
All of us sit, alone
complete isolation, no one in site
no high-fiving, hugging, or being with outsiders
for a simple virus has caused a mass destruction!
As the death toll rises of the unthinkable, all our hope is washed down the drain
tearing away at businesses and torn relationships
what do we do with no lack of sense of direction?
We have to get through this, i know we will
Just do your part and I’ll do mine trying to rid the virus from everyone’s lives.
Trapped inside by Brian Case
Inside is boring,
Sometimes I feel like there is nothing to do,
I hate it, no friends, no playing, and no having fun,
The thing I like the most is the snacks,
I don’t think that I could survive without the snacks.,
Oh, without the snacks I wouldn’t be alive,
I have had a lot of time to play video games,
And only talk to my friends over the phone,
I have thought about rearranging my room four times but have been to lazy to do so,
Maybe I could if I just get up and do so,
I wish this chaos would just be over,
And life would just be back to normal,
I like my normal life 10x better,
And hopefully, it will be back to normal soon.
Trapped Inside by Lucy Impey Human's simply need interaction. Without it people's minds change, they become a different person. Being trapped inside with a virus guarding the exits with only toilet paper and screens can be challenging for some people to get through. Seeing people through a virtual screen and not being able to make contact with them the next day is something that makes people isolate. Some people cope with pets and they have their pets for comfort. These pets help let people make contact and even give people a calming feeling. Everything is weird right now and people have no clue when this virus will back down and let everyone free. Trapped Inside by Alexa Reinheimer For over a month I couldn't see my friends. I had to garden because I had nothing better to do. For over a month my eyes were blinded by my electronics. I completed school from home. For over a month I was cooped up in my home stuck with just my family. For over a month I was in quarantine.
Short Story: Trapped Inside by Riley McGowan
As I was sitting in my chair, just talking to some of my friends online, I suddenly felt sadness. I wanted to be hanging out with them together, in real life, not just on computer screens. I looked out my window, and see empty streets, with only a couple people and cars occasionally passing by. The virus lingers outside my building, waiting for me to take some daring steps into the contaminated city. I had gathered supplies earlier in the week, and I am well prepared for many days and nights in my room. However my dog strives for attention, and cant get his normal walks down the street, so I only take him out front of the building, so he can have his fresh air. There isn’t much to do during these lonely days, but I find comfort in talking to my friends, knowing this will be over soon, and we will meet each other again.
Trapped Inside by Rachel Morgan
Day and night
too much black, not enough white
the sun can’t chase away the gloom
stuck in your room
with endless hours on
the hands of one who does
so little
you’re trapped inside
Hour by hour
resting, eating, working,
repeating
is there no end to this cycle?
days drift by
like lazy clouds
every word of hope
an elixir for the soul
all the stories of death
like a stab to the heart
all while you can do
nothing
you’re trapped inside
Every minute that goes by
every breath that’s taken
is counted
up, up, up,
till the numbers reach the clouds
and you stop
it’s time to sleep again
but
you never stop counting,
not really
and neither does anyone else
until it’s over,
all over
and it will be
but until then
you’re trapped inside…
but not for long
Trapped Inside by Alyssa Ruggles
With pandemic on the loose,
You must stay inside
And now there are rules,
Of which to abide
Don’t go to school,
You must cover your face
Leave lots of room,
At least six feet of space
As we go into hiding,
Deeper and deeper,
The number of cases
Still grows steeper and steeper
There will be a day,
We’ll leave this all in the past
But for now, who knows?
How long will it last?
Trapped Inside by Banks Vadeboncoeur
Mrs. Baker strolls past my house, her old body moving at a heavy pace. Her dog, aged as she is, trails behind her. I turn back to my computer screen, drowsily waving to my friends through the monitor.
After a moment of pure silence, I hear a loud noise coming from outside of my window. I turn to see Mrs. Baker, wheezing and coughing in front of my house.
I can feel the sweat drench my skin as my heart pounds against my chest. All because she coughed…all because poor old Mrs. Baker spread the virus.
“What’s wrong?” Nikki ask me through the computer screen. I put on a fake smile.
“Nothing,” I lie to her, “I’m fine.”
As each day goes by, I feel another load of worry fall upon my shoulders. The Corona virus is spreading and killing thousands of people every day, all while I sit trapped in my bedroom. I can practically see the germs outside of my window, building a wall around my house. Around my life.
My dog, Ollie, rests his head on my knee. We’ve played fetch at least a fifty times today, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. I sigh and throw the red ball once more.
“Go fetch,” I say to him. Ollie looks up at me with disappointment, his tail down and motionless. He then turns away and starts gnawing on a toilet paper roll, one of the many stacked around my bedroom.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him, “I promise.”
Trapped Inside poem By: Sasha Crowe
On the device
catching up with friends
wouldn’t it be nice
to see them in person agains
I miss them so,
I can’t even “lol”
shoot I ran out of my toilet paper roll
I have so much time
You know what that means…
endless boxes from AMAZON PRIME
Short Story Trapped Inside by Emily Loftus
*Crinkle* *crinkle* *crackle* I look down at my now empty mega
sized bag of Cheetos. No. My Cheetos! I pre-ordered three bags of
family sized bags of Cheetos a week ago! Usually when I pre-order
enough food to feed a seven-year-olds birthday party like I did, it
can last me at least a month! I throw my blanket off my bed and run
to my pantry, my dog Brady behind me. I throw open the door and
stare in horror at the sight before me. No chips! Not even the little
bags of Pirate Booty I keep in case of emergency in the little corner
of my pantry. No chips. No emergency chips. I am going to die here
in my house, while under quarantine. I continue to stare at the horrid
sight in front of me and I feel something lick my face that feels
suspiciously like sandpaper. I blink. Brady licks my face again and I
stand up, unaware I had sunk to the ground. I trudge back to my
room and plop down in front of my computer, and I pull up
Amazon’s website in two seconds flat. I have made so many orders
in the past month that my computer immediately routes me to the
Amazon homepage. Most times its pretty convenient, but sometimes
its a little annoying. I fill my cart with Cheetos, Doritos, Pirate
Booty, and some other essentials. I sighed spin around in my chair. I
am surrounded by toilet papered the sadness that I won’t see another
Cheeto until May 1st. I never really thought I would run out of
chips. I am lost inside my head for a bit until I hear a ring coming
form my computer. Its a call from all my friends! I answer the call
and my friends and I start chatting about quarantine life.Thats when
I hear it. The most dreaded sound in New York. A sneeze. I turn to
the window and I see our buildings window cleaner, George, sneeze
at my window. I sit there, struck with horror, as George continues
his decent down the building. There is one thing I know now for
sure, besides the fact my chips are coming on May 1st, is Corona
has come knocking at my window.
Trapped Inside: A Short Story Nola Wisdom
Some days I wonder what it was like outside. I wonder what it would be like to be hugged. I wonder how the world would have been different if things had been done in another way. If our ancestors would have stayed inside like they had been told to, would life be better? We will never know. I know that I shouldn’t feel regret for actions that were not my own, but I can’t help but feel remorseful that I have never felt the brush of grass along my bare feet or the salty spray of the ocean. We have virtual tours, but I don’t believe they can compare to the sights that I have read about in the virtual library. I have never seen the world outside of the room I reside in, except for in pictures that are blurry and distorted. I have never felt the warmth of the sun against my face, nor have I felt the cold scrape of winter winds. Every day, the monitors come by my room to give me my rations. During the pandemic there was a huge surge in the sales of necessities like food and water, but also in luxuries like toilet paper, consequently the world never quite recovered. Several countries fell into anarchy and disrepair. America recovered but only with the help of The Measures. These rules forced all citizens into soft comfortable prison cells. We were only supposed to be in them until the disease was halted, but it never did. No one has been outside in over 50 years. They tell us it is still dangerous, we would immediately be infected if we went out there. Some people believe this, but others say this is just an attempt to control us. Several chat rooms are for the sole purpose of conspiring about how the virus is a lie. However, none of this has made a dent in the program, so it looks like we aren’t getting out of here anytime soon.
Open Your Eyes a poem by Adrienne Edwards
Feel the warmth of the sun on your face
Starting today someone new will die
But soon it will all be replaced
Even though it can’t be seen
This disease is in control
You see it from every screen
From Fox to CNN it rages on
I hope were all on one team
Instead of focusing on the negative
I look for everything positive
I laugh at the amount of toilet paper
Which was sent by my paranoid grandparents
Online with my friends already knowing that I feel safer
My dog seemingly know exactly what to do
As he prances around the room
Not being able to fall back asleep
I think for a moment and take a leap
A leap to a fresh start
A leap to taking back my life
I stare out the window knowing what will soon come
As my qaurantine life has just begun
Trapped Inside by Segura McKenna
“Woof woof!” is the first thing I hear when I wake up. Waking up at 10:20am to your dog barking at the birds outside your window, in your room is definitely the best way to wake up. I hop out of bed, fix my hair to a high bun that’s on top of my head. I look at the time to know how much time I have until I have to facetime my friends to go over notes for my class that I missed yesterday because I overslept. “Shoot! I got ten minutes” I tell myself. I look down at myself, I’m wearing matching sleep pants and shirt. “Ehh” I think to myself, “I’m not going to change, it’s not like I’m going anywhere, and I took a shower last night so it’s not like these are dirty.” I walk to the back patio door to let my dog out, ” Come here! Come here Luna!” I say in my baby voice. Yet Luna just stands there looking at me like I’m insane. This is just my new normal I guess, not changing out of pajamas in the morning, my dog thinking I’m insane ,and talking to myself. Wonderful!
Trapped Inside by Zach Buttacavoli
Friends stuck at home
While I feel so alone
Church bells don’t ring
Musicians don’t sing
Beaches are bare
There is sadness in the air
I long to hear the stadiums roar
And have my life back once more
Trapped Inside by Reese Luther
This illustration makes me think of my life right now. I feel like me and so many other people in the world right now can relate to the girl in the picture. She is doing what pretty much everyone else is doing during this time, she is doing her online classes in her pajamas, scared to even leave her home or go outside because she is scared that she could get sick and die. You can see her and her dog looking out the window probably wondering when her life will go back to normal. She also has a lot of toilet paper just like everyone else who is stocking up on supplies so they wont have to leave their house.
COVID-19 by Kelly Hofacker
Life before the virus, I took for granted
I never realized how much freedom we had
I don’t miss waking up for the bus
But i do like the flexibility of sleeping in
Class is now in front of a monitor
What I wouldn’t give to walk the Landrum halls one last time
The sameness of everday is getting to me
But I understand the importance of social distancing
Every night I play basketball with my brothers,
But I miss doing tik toks with all my friends at school
I miss bonding with my friends,
But I’m bonding with my family in a way we didn’t before
I think when this is all over in a year or two
We will all be permanently changed and we will all have a new normal
Trapped Inside by Madeleine Hildebrand
The morning of April 20 Maddie woke up to the bright sun. She had been in quarantine for six weeks now and she was going crazy. Maddie turned over to look at the clock and it indicated 9:15 she fell off her bed realizing that she had a conference with her friends in 5 minutes and she was still in her pajamas. Maddie rushed to her closet put sweatshirt and sweatpants and ran to her computer. She was excited about this conference because it was to work on a project about collecting goods for the homless shelters in there town, Maddie was in charge of collecting toilet paper. They worked all day to complete this project they laughed and smiled which seemed rare in times like this when the virus is taking over the world. Maddie had a big window in her room and she loved to see the dogs walk by her window every day but as the virus got worse less and less people were walking by and she started to feel lonely. Just as she was about to turn on her tv to watch a movie she heard a tap on her window.
Story Entrance by Khaled Bouaziz
I sit inside. It’s been well over a month now. At this point in time Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer don’t make a difference. It’s your sanity. I have been doing everything they have been telling me to do. At this point I think I would rather get “it” than have to sit inside all day. Regardless, I have been sitting inside talking on my friends on the computer. It’s the 12th hour and my head is pounding. I am sweating. There is no way this is healthy. Perhaps people will realize that we cannot live fake lives online, spending all day on the computer. Perhaps the best thing to do is just wait.
JJ’s Responce to Covid-19 by J.J. Metcalf-Parker
There was a young boy named JJ,
Who spent all his time on vacay,
When Covid-19 impacted this teen,
He got stuck in his room and went cracra
Trapped Inside by Leia Miles
Weeks and weeks pass,
the loneliness grows
the pandemic becomes stronger
how long will this go?
Trapped Inside by Wimberly Townsend
A virus in disguise, corona is in site.
Staying inside until we are told otherwise, the world is putting up a fight.
People spreading it left and right, thinking they are sanatized.
I do my dutie of staying inside, not knowing who could die.
Trapped Inside Poem by Lucas Chigounis
Trapped Inside Poem
Trapped Inside
Corona Outisde
Video Chats and Zooms
All your friends virtually in your bedroom
Bored Inside
Too much time to bide
My family gettting pale
Fighting the virus with little avail
Beaches Reopened only in the morning
People come swarming
Now we can go outside
But the virus is still the downside
Isolation by: Bella Davidson
Stuck inside all day and night,
going outside sets a fright.
Getting dressed is in the past,
staying in your pjs is a blast!
Video calls are every day,
my dog is waiting to go play.
Hoarding supplies is the brand new trend,
I can’t wait for this horror to end.
Trapped Inside by Griffin Owen
This illustration reminds me of quarantine. This is because of the toilet paper in the background all stacked up. Also, the woman looks like she is chatting with her friends. She is also alone with her dogs waiting for something exiting to happen outside the window like we all do.
Trapped Inside by Isabela Victoria-Alarcon
A huge sickness has hit her town and now everyone has to be cautious about what they touch and where they go. Also, they have to make sure they everyone stays inside with their families so, that the virus doesn’t spread more than it already has. Now she locked in her house and can’t see other people so the only way to communicate is to Facetime her friends. Most stores have ran out of toilet paper so, her parents went out and finally found some, brought a lot of it just in case, if they were going on full on lock-down for awhile. She hasn’t seen anyone else but her family.